Covid Report for Family

Background

Notes and format last updated May 7, 2020

Starting on the May 7th update, the NY Times began including probable covid cases/deaths along with confirmed. This mostly affects death counts – for certain geographies that include probable COVID deaths in addition to confirmed, these are now added to the totals. For the time being, they were all added to the May 6th totals, causing a big spike at the U.S. level. Over time, NY Times will revise their historical counts and distribute these added deaths when they actually occurred, so the spike should fade.

• This page shows COVID data broken down into regions that affect our family. It pulls from publicly available raw data from the NY Times, which is reported daily. It’s on a one-day lag, so when you see this report, the most recent day included will be that reported the day prior.
• The table of contents above summarizes the major sections and can be used to jump to those sections.
• Each major section is then divided into tabs to allow you to more easily shuffle between geographies and metrics.
  • If you open on your phone, I don’t believe the tabs will work, so you’ll just see the page as one long, continuous document.
• More detailed descriptions and context can be found in each section.

Growth rates

Heat maps

• The two heat maps below compare how quickly total cases or deaths have grown at various times in our respective geopgraphies.
• The first plot compares growth rate for total cases; the second, growth rate for total deaths.
• The metric used is doubling time, by which I mean how quickly total cases or deaths are doubling.
• The plots track that doubling time at each date for our geographies. Darker colors reflect shorter doubling times, and thus periods of faster growth.
  • You can use the plots to track each geography over time and to compare the geographies to one another.
  • You can also compare the cases and death charts, to see how faster periods of death growth follow faster periods of case growth.

Case growth rates

• This section charts the growth rate of both total and new cases for each of our respective geographies. Each geography has its own chart, and then that chart will have a trendline for total cases and new cases.
  • There are only plots for the U.S. and states because the numbers for the counties are too small to generate worthwhile trendlines in this section.
• Note that we’re charting growth rate and not a count of cases, so don’t think of these as the standard “curve” that we hear about in the news and that we want to flatten. Instead, these growth rate charts help track more precisely what we can only estimate when we see those other curves. For these growth rate charts, if the line is above zero, the metric we are tracking (total or new cases) is continuing to grow. If the growth rate line is going up, it’s growing more quickly each day; if it’s going down but still above zero, it’s growing less quickly (but still growing). Only when the growth rate lines go below zero has the metric stopped growing.
• Each of these two lines uses rolling windows to calculate a growth rate for that particular metric. I do the calculation differently for each to smooth out some of the large day-to-day discrepancies in new case reporting at the state level.
  • For total cases, the trendlines are a rolling 3-day average of daily growth rates in total cases. We want to see these decline (and almost all are), but they can’t go below zero. This is because we’re tracking growth rate and a growth rate line below zero would mean total cases have gone down, which can’t happen. They can only grow less quickly, which means we want to see the total case line get as close to zero as possible.
  • For new cases, the trendlines show a rolling 3-day average of daily growth rate in the rolling 7-day average of new cases. Including two rolling periods in this average helps smooth out crazy spikes at the state level that result from large day-to-day changes. Unlike the lines for total cases, we want to watch for the lines for new cases to get consistently below zero and stay there. That means that we are consistently seeing fewer new cases on a daily basis.

U.S.

Our states

Death growth rates

• This section charts the growth rate of both total and new deaths for each of our respective geographies. Each geography has its own chart, and then that chart will have a trendline for total deaths and new deaths.
  • There are only plots for the U.S. and states because the numbers for the counties are too small to generate worthwhile trendlines in this section.
• Note that we’re charting growth rate and not a count of deaths, so don’t think of these as the standard “curve” that we hear about in the news and that we want to flatten. Instead, these growth rate charts help track more precisely what we can only estimate when we see those other curves. For these growth rate charts, if the line is above zero, the metric we are tracking (total or new deaths) is continuing to grow. If the growth rate line is going up, it’s growing more quickly each day; if it’s going down but still above zero, it’s growing less quickly (but still growing). Only when the growth rate lines go below zero has the metric stopped growing.
• Each of these two lines uses rolling windows to calculate a growth rate for that particular metric. I do the calculation differently for each to smooth out some of the large day-to-day discrepancies in new death reporting at the state level.
  • For total deaths, the trendlines are a rolling 3-day average of daily growth rates in total deaths. We want to see these decline (and almost all are), but they can’t go below zero. This is because we’re tracking growth rate and a growth rate line below zero would mean total deaths have gone down, which can’t happen. They can only grow less quickly, which means we want to see the total death line get as close to zero as possible.
  • For new deaths, the trendlines show a rolling 3-day average of daily growth rate in the rolling 7-day average of new deaths. Including two rolling periods in this average helps smooth out crazy spikes at the state level that result from large day-to-day changes. Unlike the lines for total deaths, we want to watch for the lines for new deaths to get consistently below zero and stay there. That means that we are consistently seeing fewer new deaths on a daily basis.

U.S.

Our states

By population rankings

This section tracks metrics for states and counties normalized for population (number of cases or deaths per million residents), and then compares these figures both for our geographies and the country overall.

States

• This section shows tables ranking all 50 states for per populations rates of total cases, new cases, total deaths, and new deaths.
• For each metric, in addition to the tables, the trends for the top states are plotted over time.
  • We only plot the top ten states for each metric so that the plots aren’t too crowded. But you can view the full 50-state rankings in the tables.

Total confirmed cases

Table of total confirmed cases per million residents (all 50 states)

Ranking	State	Cases Per Million
1	North Dakota	144,892
2	Rhode Island	143,683
3	South Dakota	140,554
4	Utah	127,599
5	Tennessee	124,780
6	Arizona	121,701
7	Iowa	118,045
8	Wisconsin	116,152
9	Nebraska	115,690
10	South Carolina	115,524
11	Oklahoma	114,833
12	New Jersey	114,736
13	Arkansas	113,860
14	Delaware	112,240
15	Indiana	111,700
16	Alabama	111,626
17	Illinois	109,779
18	Kansas	108,943
19	Idaho	108,330
20	New York	108,295
21	Mississippi	107,224
22	Florida	107,124
23	Minnesota	107,020
24	Nevada	106,208
25	Montana	105,604
26	Wyoming	105,596
27	Georgia	103,944
28	Kentucky	103,653
29	Massachusetts	102,823
30	Texas	102,437
31	Louisiana	102,253
32	Missouri	101,187
33	Michigan	99,631
34	Connecticut	97,706
35	New Mexico	97,310
36	California	96,198
37	North Carolina	96,152
38	Colorado	96,015
39	Alaska	95,776
40	Pennsylvania	94,714
41	Ohio	94,653
42	West Virginia	90,918
43	Virginia	79,377
44	Maryland	76,304
45	New Hampshire	72,859
46	District of Columbia	69,653
47	Washington	58,498
48	Puerto Rico	54,128
49	Maine	50,949
50	Oregon	48,521
51	Vermont	38,975
52	Hawaii	25,139

New confirmed cases

Table of new cases per million residents: rolling 3-day average (all 50 states)

Ranking	State	New Cases Per Million
1	Florida	177
2	Wyoming	156
3	Washington	131
4	Colorado	127
5	Texas	114
6	Missouri	109
7	Tennessee	109
8	Louisiana	105
9	Arkansas	97
10	Utah	97
11	Nevada	83
12	Oregon	76
13	Montana	75
14	Idaho	66
15	Mississippi	60
16	Indiana	59
17	Kansas	59
18	Alaska	58
19	North Dakota	57
20	Arizona	56
21	West Virginia	56
22	Kentucky	55
23	Alabama	53
24	New Mexico	47
25	North Carolina	45
26	Georgia	42
27	Hawaii	40
28	Maine	38
29	Delaware	36
30	Pennsylvania	36
31	Oklahoma	35
32	Michigan	33
33	Rhode Island	33
34	Illinois	31
35	Iowa	30
36	New Hampshire	30
37	New Jersey	30
38	Ohio	30
39	South Carolina	29
40	New York	28
41	Minnesota	27
42	California	25
43	Wisconsin	24
44	Maryland	20
45	Virginia	20
46	Massachusetts	19
47	Connecticut	18
48	District of Columbia	18
49	Nebraska	18
50	South Dakota	15
51	Vermont	13
52	Puerto Rico	12

Total deaths

Table of total deaths per million residents (all 50 states)

Ranking	State	Deaths Per Million
1	New Jersey	2,963
2	New York	2,721
3	Massachusetts	2,602
4	Rhode Island	2,569
5	Mississippi	2,470
6	Arizona	2,437
7	Connecticut	2,317
8	Alabama	2,297
9	Louisiana	2,290
10	South Dakota	2,290
11	Pennsylvania	2,148
12	Michigan	2,073
13	New Mexico	2,050
14	Indiana	2,037
15	North Dakota	2,035
16	Illinois	2,008
17	Arkansas	1,941
18	Iowa	1,932
19	Georgia	1,926
20	South Carolina	1,898
21	Oklahoma	1,851
22	Nevada	1,825
23	Tennessee	1,815
24	Texas	1,795
25	Kansas	1,764
26	Florida	1,735
27	Delaware	1,724
28	Ohio	1,718
29	California	1,611
30	District of Columbia	1,611
31	Kentucky	1,610
32	Maryland	1,600
33	Missouri	1,597
34	West Virginia	1,589
35	Montana	1,535
36	Wisconsin	1,376
37	Minnesota	1,345
38	Virginia	1,321
39	Nebraska	1,301
40	North Carolina	1,266
41	Wyoming	1,252
42	Idaho	1,185
43	Colorado	1,184
44	New Hampshire	1,000
45	Puerto Rico	791
46	Washington	769
47	Utah	723
48	Oregon	653
49	Maine	627
50	Alaska	486
51	Vermont	410
52	Hawaii	355

New deaths

Table of new deaths per million residents: rolling 3-day average (all 50 states)

Ranking	State	New Deaths Per Million
1	West Virginia	5
2	Florida	4
3	Alabama	3
4	Kentucky	3
5	Colorado	2
6	Georgia	2
7	Idaho	2
8	Iowa	2
9	Michigan	2
10	Montana	2
11	Oregon	2
12	Alaska	1
13	Arizona	1
14	Illinois	1
15	Louisiana	1
16	Maryland	1
17	Minnesota	1
18	Mississippi	1
19	Missouri	1
20	Nevada	1
21	New Jersey	1
22	New Mexico	1
23	North Carolina	1
24	North Dakota	1
25	Ohio	1
26	Pennsylvania	1
27	South Carolina	1
28	South Dakota	1
29	Texas	1
30	Virginia	1
31	Washington	1
32	Wisconsin	1
33	Arkansas	0
34	California	0
35	Connecticut	0
36	Delaware	0
37	District of Columbia	0
38	Hawaii	0
39	Indiana	0
40	Kansas	0
41	Maine	0
42	Massachusetts	0
43	Nebraska	0
44	New Hampshire	0
45	New York	0
46	Oklahoma	0
47	Puerto Rico	0
48	Rhode Island	0
49	Tennessee	0
50	Utah	0
51	Vermont	0
52	Wyoming	0

Counties

• This section focuses on the county level. It shows tables with our counties ranked by percentile of U.S. counties for per population rates of total cases and total deaths.
  • Each table also shows the top five counties in the country in addition to our counties, for added perspecive.
• In addition to the tables, our counties’ percentile for both total cases and total deaths are plotted over time.

Confirmed cases

Table showing total cases per million and percentile for all US counties. Includes our counties and the top 5 in the US for perspective.

County	State	Cases Per Million	Raw Ranking	Percentile
Chattahoochee	Georgia	400,018	1	99
Crowley	Colorado	364,626	2	99
Bent	Colorado	276,851	3	99
Dewey	South Dakota	250,509	4	99
Lincoln	Arkansas	247,159	5	99
Davidson	Tennessee	143,320	193	93
Richland	South Carolina	113,845	997	68
York	South Carolina	113,663	1002	68
Orange	California	85,855	2267	27
Pierce	Washington	62,056	2829	9

Our county percentiles over time

Deaths

Table showing total deaths per million and percentile for all US counties. Includes our counties and the top 5 in the US for perspective.

County	State	Deaths Per Million	Raw Ranking	Percentile
Foard	Texas	8,658	1	99
Galax city	Virginia	8,350	2	99
Hancock	Georgia	8,159	3	99
Jerauld	South Dakota	7,948	4	99
Emporia city	Virginia	7,856	5	99
Orange	California	1,605	1855	40
York	South Carolina	1,392	2106	32
Richland	South Carolina	1,383	2119	32
Davidson	Tennessee	1,383	2120	32
Pierce	Washington	733	2776	11

Our county percentiles over time

Raw counts

• This section shows the raw counts over time for the U.S., our states, and our counties for four categories:
  • Total confirmed cases: This is the cumulative total of cases reported.
  • New confirmed cases: This is the number of new cases reported on each respective date.
    • For the U.S. and states, a trendline shows the rolling 7-day average of new cases, to help better visualize the peak.
  • Total deaths: This is the cumulative total of deaths reported.
  • New deaths: This is the number of new deaths reported on each respective date.
    • For the U.S. and states, a trendline shows the rolling 7-day average of new deaths, to help better visualize the peak.

Total confirmed cases

U.S.

Our states

Our counties

New confirmed cases

U.S.

Our states

Our counties

Total deaths

U.S.

Our states

Our counties

New deaths

U.S.

Our states

Our counties

Stay-at-home comparisons

• This section is a work in progress. It’s exploring what effect stay-at-home orders have on spread. It’s inherentely messy because some states have localized orders but not orders for their full state and because states implemented the orders at different times.
  • The first plot shows a rolling 3-day average of new cases per million residents, averaged across 2 groups of states – those with a state-wide stay-at-home order in effect and those without. The size of the dots reflect the number of states in each group for each given day (so the dots are getting bigger over time for the group with orders, as more states implement those orders).
    • So far, this view doesn’t show if these orders are “working” or not. Instead, the biggest takeaway from the current plot is that the states that implemented orders are reacting to having worse spread, which is why the case rate is so much higher at the start for them. As a state decides it has a problem and implements an order, it joins the grouping of states with orders and drives the rate up for that group.
    • Over time (if the policies work), what we’d expect is that the line for the group with orders flattens or declines in relation to the no-order group. It also may become moot if all states issue orders.
    • As states start rescending their orders, I’ll put them back into the no-order group, so the no-order group should beging to expand again.
  • The second plot tracks progress of states by the number of days since orders have been in effect. It includes only those states with orders and shows their average new case growth rate (a rolling 3-day average of daily growth rates) based on how long it’s been since the order went into effect. Again, the size of the dots show how many states are included in each point – i.e., as you go further right, the dots are smaller because less states are that far past their order.
    • I’m working on how to add a baseline to this chart to compare to states without orders, but that’s challenging because there’s no way to fully align timing.